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What do a bunch of cat veterinarians talk about when they’re hanging out at a party together? Cat poop, of course, says Dr. Jean Hofve, holistic veterinarian, author, and founder of the site Little Big Cat. Why? Because the state of a cat’s poop is one of the fastest ways to help determine what might be wrong with an ailing kitty. Poop is important to your cat’s health, so it stands to reason that the place where it exits, the cat butt, would be, too. Here are four important things you should know about caring for the cat butt.

1. Cat butt dingleberries

If you have a longhaired cat like my Romeo, you’ve probably seen little pieces of poop clinging to a cat butt now and then. It’s especially awesome when you discover this right after your cat has jumped up on your pillow and your face is two inches from the offending clump.

Dingleberries can occur if your cat’s poop is soft and is especially prevalent in cats with diarrhea. If your cat has the runs, it’s a good idea to take him to the vet right away to get him checked out.

The best thing to do to keep the berries at bay is to keep that cat butt trimmed of excess fur. You can carefully do this yourself or take your cat to the vet or groomer for a “sanitary trim.”

2. Should you wipe a cat butt?

Well, it depends. Does your the cat butt in question need wiping? Technically, your cat should be able to handle that himself, says Hofve. However, she adds, there are circumstances when he’s going to need some assistance.

Soft poop: If your cat’s poop is softer than normal, it could stick to his bottom. Typically your cat can get to this himself, but he might not get it all so a little help may be required.

Overweight cats: If your cat’s overweight, it might be hard for him to reach all the way behind him to clean up, explains Hofve. That’s good incentive to get your chubby kitty on a diet, yes?

Arthritic cats: If an older cat suffers from arthritis, he might also have trouble bending that far to get to his poop chute.

Warm water on a soft washcloth is the best way to clean a cat butt, Hofve advises. You can also use baby wipes or pet cleansing wipes like Earth Bath All Natural Cat Wipes, which I sometimes use.

Wipes are fine if your cat can’t reach his bum by himself at all. But if your cat can reach but simply hasn’t done such a bang-up job, just use plain water. You don’t want your cat licking himself and then ingesting chemicals, however mild, from the wipes.

3. Cat scooting

We’ve all witnessed this common cat butt issue. Your cat hops out of the box and immediately plops down onto the floor and appears to be wiping his bum with your carpet. Or sometimes it may happen out of the blue. Regardless, no one wants to have to clean up skid marks from her light-colored Berber rug.

Cat scooting, though, is actually a good thing, because it indicates there’s an issue at hand. From diarrhea to allergies to worms, something’s going on back there and your cat’s scooting should tell you that he’s not feeling comfortable. If your cat is dragging his bum on the floor, take him for a visit with the vet.

4. Common health issues associated with the cat butt

Paying attention to what’s going on in your cat’s butt is a good idea. By knowing what’s coming out, you’ll be attuned to health issues. But also pay attention to the cat butt area itself. If there’s anything weird going on down there, get your kitty to the vet right away.

One common problem you might experience with a cat butt is swollen anal glands. The anal glands, located on either side of the anal opening, secrete an important scent that coats the poop and is used for marking. A normal poop coming through the rectum puts just enough pressure on the glands to release the scent. But if a poop is too hard or too soft, it won’t prompt that release. Over time, the glands back up and become swollen and uncomfortable.

You probably won’t be able to see the impacted glands because “they swell to the inside,” says Hofve. But, she says, “scooting is one of the signs that anal glands are impacted. Or your cat might be licking a lot at the area or doing strange yoga positions to try and get at it.”

If your cat is exhibiting any of these behaviors, take him to the vet to get him checked out. If the issue is impacted anal glands, your vet will manually empty them. And, cautions Hofve, don’t try to express the glands yourself. Improper technique can create quite a mess.

You also might periodically see little wiggling things (gag) in your cat’s poop or hanging out of the opening. If you do, get your cat to the vet right away. These are likely worms, and if they’re hanging out in the exit area, the problem is already advanced. In fact, if anything odd is hanging out of your cat’s butt or in his poop (like string, for example) take him to the vet. Even if the string appears to have come out completely, there may still be a piece inside your cat’s body. Your vet will do an X-ray or ultrasound to be sure no string is left, tangled up in your kitty’s organs.

Who knew the cat butt was such an important area? Staying up in your cat’s business will keep you aware and informed about the state of his health.

43 comments on “4 Ways the Cat Butt Can Give You a Bigger Picture of Your Kitty’s Health”

We have 2 sisters from when they were 8weeks old…21/2years now…. all of a sudden one is pooping on the carpet in the shower and in the bedroom……I have cleaned litter boxes,bought 2 New litter boxes,yelled at her . Don’t know what else to do….the poop is normal..no changes made in her ecco system any suggestionss would be appreciated

we rescued Baxter at the Cat Hospital, where he had been an in-house resident cat. they were very gracious, as they had previously microchipped him, neutered, and given him all vaccines with no charge. 2 days after he was home, i noticed a couple of pieces of “rice” on his butthole. i went to them and they gave me the meds, and said they’d found some on one of their other residents. roundworms–treat immediately, as it causes a cat significant discomfort.

Cat poop should be well formed. Too ‘soft’ poop that smears on hair, would be a warning sign for me.

If you make your own foods (which is as easy like making your own/kids food you can change type and amounts of ingredients to get normal bowl movements. As long as you feed/eat real (whole foods) that can be supplemented to your needs.

5 or 6 week old kitten…. intestine ,or part of kittens anal stays out at least 1/4 of inch. It is pink in color but looks clean. What to do ? Will a warm cloth help. Kitten is otherwise normal. Doesn’t show pain and plays around like nothing is wrong.

My 5 year old male cat has what looks like a long small dingleberry on the corner of his butthole. It is long and straight and about 1mm long and round. He is very good about cleaning hinself, is not scooting, and his bowel movements look normal. Any thoughts?

My cat scoots sometimes at the end of a bowel movement. Usually her feces is pretty long (she’s on a raw food diet and I add psyllium husk to it) and she can’t seem to release the feces so it gets stuck IN her butt and then she freaks out and tries to get rid of it and that’s when she scoots. One time I was in the room when she was having a bowel movement and she started to scoot so I picked her up and pulled the feces from her butt and then wiped it. What does this mean? Should I bring her to the vet?

My cat was lying down and I noticed her butthole was twitching – every few seconds her butthole would suddenly tighten or something. I can’t find anything online about this – is there cause for concern?

I seem to have adopted I guess u could say a proximate of a 6mth old kitten. I treated earmites , and gave her worm stuff cuz she soo skinny. Treated her for fleas numerous times but they r still there. She sleeps at my feet at night. I often feel itchy. Cant get rid of them. Idk wat to do. There in her little face still. And she doesn’t eat very well and has this look in her eyes she may not b feeling well. I’m not rich and vets are expensive. And have looked into payment plan place but haven’t had any luck. She starting to go into heat and rubs up on me. And like i said sleeps by me at night. She wants to be with me all time. Even goes on car rides. Got a cool weird personality on her I just fell in love with. She has saved my life as i have struggled with personal life struggles that caused me great sadness. And she trusts me and likes me as well. I don’t know wat to do bout these flees as treatments can be very expensive. And she’s young. I think they r jumping on me and making her not feel very good. W2do? Plz help us we are 2 creatures that need least expensive solutions And that seem to need eachother. Sincerely Pipit (kitten) & Wisper

Wisper: I live in San Diego, CA. Low to no cost spay and neutering is available in SD. Often you can call a local county shelter and ask for low-cost vet services. Reach out to a local adoption agency and ask if they can make a recommendation that fits your budget. Have you bathed your kitten? Are you using a flea comb (drop fleas in a bowl of soapy water-fleas can’t jump out of the water)? Both are low cost and very important for tackling fleas infestation.

Wisper, no matter what age, it’s still ok to give them a nice warm bath in your basin. Fill it up with dishwashing soap ideally the one that is good for the hands of the human (aloe Vera). Rub it all over his wet hair and even face. Sing to him meanwhile to make it a nice experience and let it kill the flees.
After five minutes, rinse very very well and u will see all dead fleas coming out.
Nothing wrong with that. I’ve done it with stray kittens and they are safe.
Then, dry well with towel and wrap your kitty with a warm towel you had previously warmed up in a heating pad.
If possible do this in a warm day of if you are lucky use a hair drier.
If he is too cold, put kitty in cage and use hair drier from outside.
Make sure he won’t hurt inside so cushion it with a towel.
First you must go flee hunting. Otherwise they will jump back in the kitty once he is clear.
Bring a bowl of water with dishwashing soap (liquid) and use a flashlight to attract the fleas to the water.
Just put the flashlight next to the bowl and voila. They will be happy to go for a deadly swim.
Good luck!

get some coconut oil and rub her down and pick the flees off her . Then bath her with a genle shampoo ir soap. We did that to our cats and they have not had fleas in months. but they stay in door all the time.I wish you luck. Treatments can get expexsive
Linda

There is a medication called Revolution which gets rid of fleas, ear mites, intestinal worms, heart worms, this is an awesome medication. I use it myself. You apply it to the back of their neck once a month. You can get it from your vet or from Petbucket.com .

When my cat stretches a tiny piece of poop comes out and stays there on her butt, I have no idea why. I have a baby and a 5 year old so I’m a little concerned about the hygiene. She’s an indoor cat and has the same diet as her sister who doesn’t have this problem.

Hello, I recently just got a little 7 week old kitten. I’ve only seen her scoot twice, for about a few seconds each. When I looked at her bottom to see if anything was looking unusual , I noticed her bottom had litter stuck to it. I’m wondering if I should go to the vet or if it may just have been irritation from the litter.

My cat is scooting a lot. I took him to the vet to express his glands and that didn’t seem to be the problem. He got tested for parasites and came back negative. I’ve changed his diet and he’s still doing it. I don’t know what to do. I want to make sure he’s comfortable but he seems not to be. Please help!

Hello I’m concern about my 4yr old female cat. She is eating in the middle of the night but in the day ewhen she is not sleeping she wants treats 2 or 3 times a day. Also I have dry and wet food side by side. Please help me to understand this csy? I love her so much but I want ” to make sure I’m ding the right thing.